Would it be nice if your backyard covey could pay for their own feed? What if they could bring in even more income? As urban and suburban keepers increasingly want these sweet hens, the lack of US breeders is causing prices to rise, especially for any quail who lay a colored egg. Let’s talk about breeding Celadon Coturnix quail for profit and just how much money a small covey could realistically bring in:
Breeding Celadon Coturnix Quail for Profit
Early every spring a quiet rush begins with buyers reaching out to Coturnix quail breeders, trying to secure hatching eggs, baby quail chicks, juveniles – literally anything the breeder is willing to sell. By the time a few quail chicks arrive at the feed store…priced at $8 or more each…an unseen buying frenzy is well underway. Wait lists for the most popular Coturnix breeders are 12 to 16 weeks long. Etsy listings for fertilized celadon eggs sell out shortly after being listed. Anyone who is new to quail and trying to obtain their first covey feels almost out of luck because birds are snapped up the moment they are listed for sale anywhere. What is going on?
There are Not Enough U.S. Quail Breeders. Seriously.
Quail hens lay an egg every single day for 8 to 9 months straight. But there are not enough people willing to invest in an incubator with a quail egg turner and quail chick supplies to raise them plus the PT testing required to sell them. So the same situation repeats itself each spring when demand is high and supply is far too low.
High Demand Drives Higher Prices
If you’re aware of this yearly cycle, you could profit from it! The hunt for quail chicks begins in February, before most of the hens have come back into lay. Wait lists begin and whoever has eggs available can name their price. (Hatching egg buyers are notoriously impatient.) If you happen to have blue eggs laid by celadon quail hens, early spring hatching egg prices are $2-$5 per egg for standard celadon quail. The hatching egg prices are much higher if you happen to breed Jumbo Celadon quail.
Why Do Colored Quail Eggs Sell for More?
Variety is the spice of life! And since quail eggs are used in the kitchen, we enjoy pretty mixes of these scrumptious little superfood eggs! Celadon quail who lay a blue egg must inherit two copies of the recessive celadon gene to produce blue egg shells, otherwise they lay a standard cream-and-brown colored egg. That makes celadons more rare and more valuable.
People Love Colorful Quail Eggs
If you can breed for Speckled Celadon who lay a range of powder blue, speckled blue, mint chocolate chip, and speckled green eggs, you will enjoy year-round interest in your hatching eggs and chicks! As we have bred for jumbo celadon, we’ve produced some interesting colors you can view on our Easter Egger quail page.
Should I Sell Eggs or Chicks?
Once you are PT tested and approved, you can sell both. You will find the highest demand is for juvenile celadon hens who are 3+ weeks old and feathered out enough to go into an outdoor quail coop or pen. As of this writing, sexable celadon juvenile females 3-4 weeks old are $15 each. Celadon quail chicks are a minimum $6 each at hatch (straight run, unsexed) and are $10 each at 3 weeks old for non-sexable feather colors.
How Much Can I Make Breeding Celadon Coturnix Quail?
At $2 per celadon hatching egg, even the smallest backyard covey can bring in enough money to pay for their feed. (Afflink) A breeding group of 4 celadon hens with 1 celadon rooster would need just 3 days to fill a carton with a dozen hatching eggs or 7 days to lay 2 dozen eggs and account for any skipped days or accidental breakage. At $24 per dozen, this small breeding covey could bring in up to $48 per week. That may not leave you with any eating eggs but selling half of what is laid (1 dozen at $24) means an extra $96 per month.
Spring 2024: As of right now, $25 per dozen is the cheapest price I can find online for standard size celadon hatching eggs in my area. The numbers above are very realistic. You may find that you’re flooded with requests for more eggs than your covey can lay, even if you ask $30 per dozen.
Will the Eggs and Chicks Sell?
Yes, celadon hatching eggs and chicks sell quite well! You should have immediate interest in anything you list online so long as you provide crisp, clear, attractive images. Blue quail eggs look best when photographed on white and most of my images feature the eggs on simple white ceramic dishes, photographed outside in light shade.
Should I Keep More Birds to Make More Income?
Scaling up to become a huge celadon quail operation is not necessary to be profitable. Since the most popular home incubator for quail eggs can hold around 4 dozen eggs in the quail egg turner, most buyers are going to want around 2 dozen eggs. If your covey is producing 2 to 4 dozen eggs per week, you will only need to find one or two buyers to sell to. The hatching eggs that don’t sell can go into your own incubator so you can offer quail chicks or juveniles as well. (Minimum $6 per celadon chick; most are $8+ per just-hatched celadon chick, straight run.) If you have too many birds and produce too many eggs, you may not be able to find local buyers for more than 6 dozen hatching eggs per week.
How Can I Profit from Selling Celadon Quail Chicks?
Many celadon quail come in non-sexable feather colors, with scarlet, rosetta, and tuxedo being extremely common. An incubator that holds 48 eggs where 40 hatch, could bring in $288 at $6 per chick.
If you are able to breed celadons in feather-sexable colors, you can sell the females at premium prices around 3-4 weeks old. Celadon chicks can be difficult to find so local demand will influence your pricing. $15+ per juvenile female in a feather sexable color is expected in my area of Texas. Celadon males for breeding are typically half the price of females.
This Actually Works with only 1 Roo and 4 Hens?
Yes it does! Your one rooster can regularly fertilize up to 5 hens so long as he is under 1 year old. You’ll need to replace him with a fresh, young celadon male each season, which you can hatch yourself. Quail hens lay an egg every day when they are under 1 year old. If they have plenty of space (1/2 square foot per bird) and a clean coop, you should enjoy high fertility rates from your covey. Their feed, no-waste feeders, waterers, odor control, and the cartons you use to sell the eggs are the primary business expenses you’ll incur. (Afflinks) If your one coop can fit up to 12 birds, ten females can be kept with two roosters. Just make sure all the birds hatched from blue eggs, since a hen must inherit two copies of the recessive blue egg gene in order to lay a blue egg.
Why Are More People Not Doing This?
As of this writing, most quail breeders reside in rural and semi-rural areas. There is a massive untapped market when it comes to breeding celadon quail for suburban residents by suburban keepers. Right now many people must make long drives to a rural breeder to buy their first covey. Providing this locally in your area is expected to be profitable as soon as the celadon hens come into lay around 8-10 weeks old. (If quail are new to your area, you will find it easier to sell started juveniles the first year to beginner keepers.)
Breeding Celadon Coturnix Quail is Profitable!
Quail are game birds, which are allowed by HOAs, where interest spreads like wildfire once one or two neighbors begin to keep these sweet superfood egg layers! Your new backyard hobby could quickly pay for itself…and then turn a fast profit as friends want to give their children the experience of raising these gentle egg layers. Be aware that any time there are grocery store egg shortages, quail chick buying panics tend to ensue. This can be a little stressful to navigate as a breeder but it is often wildly profitable.
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